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Juan de la Cruz
Juan Dapidran de la Cruz (born December 1, 1980), better known by his ring name Juan de la Cruz, is a Filipino professional wrestler, recording artist, and former politician. He currently competes for APG. Early Life De La Cruz, the son of Rosalio de la Cruz and Liza Dapdrian-de la Cruz, is the third among five siblings: Alberto "Bobbito" de La Cruz, Isidra de la Cruz-Paglinawan, Domingo de la Cruz, and Rogelio "Busta" de la Cruz. De la Cruz was raised and continues to be a devout Catholic. He is a personal friend of Archbishop Andres Carrascosa Coso and is very active in the Catholic Church of Panama. Early Career De la Cruz began his career in the city of Manila as a military reservist, holding the rank of Lieutenant in the 10th Ready Reserve Division of the Filipino Army. De la Cruz was injured during a training exercise when he pushed a fellow soldier out of the way of an out of control jeep, and as a result suffered a spinal fracture. During recovery, De la Cruz was often visited by his older brothers Bobbito and Busta, who were at the time a well-known tag team in Philippines Professional Wrestling as "The Gangbangers". PPW to this day is the largest wrestling company in the Philippines. They would often take Juan, still wheelchair-bound, to their shows in an effort to get him out of the house. During this near-year of recovery, Juan decided that he would be a hero to the Filipinos - at the time, as was the norm in PPW, the babyfaces were all foreigners (Viet, Thai, Japanese). As a result, de La Cruz trained doubly hard and was fully-mobile within a month's time, unheard-of in the world of physical therapy. Within the next month he was a fully trained wrestler, showing a aptitude for athletics that surprised most, including his brothers. Philippines Professional Wrestling De la Cruz, who made his debut under his real name to further himself from his brothers in the eyes of the fans, made his debut in 2001. Pushed as the greatest champion the Philippines had ever produced. He certainly looked the part--de la Cruz was an excellent athlete, and was often voted "Most Handsome Filipino" by Manila Bay Magazine. It would appear that the fans had been waiting for a homegrown star, and before leaving the promotion for APG, de la Cruz was a three time Heavyweight Champion, a two time Tag Team Champion, and the winner of "Best Wrestler" five years running. De la Cruz remains the only wrestler in PPW's history to be inducted into the PPW Hall of Fame while still an active competitor. Recording and Political Career In 2006 de la Cruz took a leave of absence from professional wrestling to run for the House of Representatives, which he won in a landslide victory. De la Cruz was elected into the 14th Congress of the Philippines, representing the province of Surigao del Norte. While an active politician, De la Cruz recorded two albums, one of traditional Filipino songs ("Juance, Twice, Three times..."), and another of mostly Baile-funk inspired dance music ("De la Cruisin'"). Both records were immensely popular, and remain steady sellers to this day. De la Cruz's cover of "Dancing in the Streets" remains the most requested song in Filipino radio history. Juan Day Juan de la Cruz's birthday celebration, which he holds every year in a convention center in Manila, is something of an unofficial holiday in the Philippines. He opens the celebration to anyone who can come, on a first-come-first-serve basis, and does not charge a cover fee. This celebration generally includes a day of watching films, dancing, and a traditional feast. In 2009 de la Cruz was asked to record an ad for the Filipino government urging the people of the Philippines to not call off work on his birthday. It was apparently becoming a problem. Asociación de Panamanian Grappling In late 2009, de la Cruz resigned his post in the House of Representatives to his older sister and assistant, Isidra. When asked why he did this by a local newspaper, he stated that he had an offer to "spread the message of the Philippines to a world stage."